Thank you for checking this out. The cover is not mine, I found it on tumblr. The "hurt me as you please / but do not ever leave" actually is mine. I mean I came up with that in one of my poems and now I use it for this.

It says "in progress", I know, but I'm unsure if I will actually continue this. Depends on the inspiration and on the reviews.

Also, if you'd like to see any kind of drabble, either PM me or contact me on tumblr - infinityklaroline

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, but if I did, I would definitely let Klaus kill Hayley and her baby.

Angst, Klaroline, Carlijah, AU.

Nothing Remains

hurt me as you please
but do not ever leave

Niklaus Mikaelson had the unfortunate ability not to appreciate what he had.

Caroline Forbes had the unfortunate ability never to be good enough.

So when they got together, Elijah had known that it would end wrong. Her insecurities and his cravings for what was out of his reach would get the best of them eventually, and so he made it his task to be there for both of them, his intentions pure. He had seen his brother in every emotion possible, all but one. Love.

And now, the blond-haired vampire had brought that warmth in his eyes. And that was something Elijah was willing to protect. So that was how he became close to the wonderful, bright Caroline. And that was how he slowly got intoxicated by her bubbly beauty and her blinding light. He adored her.

It was hard to be in the middle of their relationship. Niklaus was good to her, the first century and a half. After that, he grew more and more tired of her and focused on his hybrids instead, searching for new ways to create them without the need of a doppelganger.

His feelings for her only grew stronger as the day he had feared for so long came by. Caroline - only wearing pajamas - cried, murmuring things as that she was never good enough and that it had been a mistake to promise eternity to Klaus, as he had already grown tired of her within the first two centuries. And the worst of all was that Elijah did not know what to do.

'One-hundred and seventy-three years,' she whispered, her voice thick and husky, the despair in her eyes frantic and frenzied. 'He promised me eternity, Elijah, why did it only last this long?'

'My brother, Caroline, has the unfortunate ability not to appreciate what he has,' the brown-haired Original stated, repeating the words he had thought by himself so long ago. 'He tends to always want what is just out of his reach.' He shook his head softly as he pulled the crying girl towards him, letting her wet his suit as she cried silently against him. 'A while ago, you were. But now he has you. And, much to both our distress, he is not familiar with keeping one satisfied with love for a long time.'

He is not familiar with love at all, my beloved Caroline, he added silently.

'Does he even care about me?' she asked in a small voice.

Something broke in Elijah when she asked him that question, her insecurities - the ones Elijah had seen so many times the past decades - once again bubbling up to the surface. How could his brother hurt such an innocent creature like Caroline? How could he even tend to leave her all alone as he was in search for new ways to create his beloved hybrids if that meant losing her? He knew he wouldn't. He would never do that to her.

'I promise you, he does,' he reassured her as he soothed her by rubbing her back in circles. 'Niklaus may not be able to show it to you, and he might not be romantic or such, but he does care for you. He just has no way of showing it.'

He knew he could never satisfy her with whatever answer he could give to her questions. More would come, and with his answers, again more would pop up in that bright, bubbly mind of hers and most of them would be questions of which the answer was just as much of a mystery to her as to him. He could never provide enough clarification to make her feel good and he hated himself for it just as much as he despised his brother for doing that to her.

'Why isn't he more like you?' she suddenly asked, her face still hidden against his chest. Her voice was broken, filled with tears and sobs and heartbreak in which Elijah engulfed himself every mere second he spent with her.

'If Niklaus was more like me, you wouldn't have liked him, Caroline,' he said, stroking her hair as he sat down, pulling her on his lap. She looked up to him, eyes ocean-blue, skin ivory-colored. It took him a while to notice her puffy eyes and red nose, as if he had been blinded by her beauty.

Maybe he was.

'Why?'

'You once told me that yourself, dear.' He couldn't help but chuckle. 'I recall you saying - and I quote - that you "might have fallen for his good side, but now are in love with his dark side just as much". I do not have such dark desires as he has, Caroline. I am not one to be consumed by darkness.'

'Are you?' she asked skeptically. 'Is there nothing you'd want so much that you would kill for it? That you would neglect, hurt, destroy and hate for in order to get that one thing?'

'That would bring such a little happiness when you'd have it, wouldn't it?' was his simple response. 'With the knowledge that you have hurt people, that you have destroyed such happiness in the process, would you be able to actually enjoy what you've gotten in your possession?'

Caroline took the time to think about that, resting her head against his chest once again.

'I wouldn't, no,' she said quietly after a long pause. 'Not for long. But would you?'

Elijah shook his head, looking at the blonde vampire in his arms. Would he hurt for her? Hurt people in order to get her? Destroy anything on his way only for her? It frightened him that deep in his heart, his answer was yes.

Yes, he would.

'Sometimes, the right thing is not quite the right thing to do, I suppose.' He stroked her hair lightly as she looked up to him in confusion. 'In this whole word there are two things that I would kill for. Only two things.'

The look in her eyes said enough. She didn't have to say it out loud.

His demeanor softened, the look in his eyes loving and caring as he raised his hand to cup her cheek. 'Family above all, of course,' he said. 'And for you, my beloved Caroline.'

The second part, she had not expected. Or maybe, she had. She didn't know. Confusion washed over her like tidal waves and she knew nothing to say nor do else than to look at him in utter surprise.

The next surprise would've definitely knocked her from his lap, if he hadn't put his arms around her as he pushed his lips to hers lightly. It was tender and loving and oh so wrong, but somehow it didn't come up in her mind to stop him.

And so she kissed him back. Not because she felt more for him than for Klaus, but because of the love he showed her - love and affection, something she hadn't gotten from her beloved Niklaus in a long time.

As the realization hit her that this was Elijah - as in Elijah, her best friend and brother, the one she trusted more than anyone - she pulled back with a gasp. Why hadn't she stopped him earlier? Why - why, for god's sake - had she kissed him back?

'What w-?'

'I'm so-'

She gestured for him to continue, unsure if she wanted to hear what he had to say about.. well, about that.

'I'm sorry, Caroline. I should not have done that. You and Niklaus... I am genuinely sorry.' He shook his head in disappointment, but Caroline couldn't make up if that was because she pulled away, or because the fact that he let himself go like that.

'Elijah,' she murmured softly, searching his eyes for answers. 'Do you feel something for me?'

The brown-haired Mikaelson sighed, avoiding her piercing gaze as he tried to make up his mind. 'That is none of your concern, dear. You came here to talk about Niklaus.'

'Actually, it became my concern the moment you kissed me, Elijah.'

Oh, how did he love the way she was not afraid of anything. She was feisty, full of fire. She was a flame, dancing and burning with utter desire.

It hurt to see how she stuck with Niklaus after all he'd done to her.

Not that he thought his brother didn't deserve her - no, he had not seen Niklaus that happy, that bright in a thousand years. He thanked Caroline for that every hour of the day.

But he couldn't help but want her. He couldn't help but want to court her right, to love her like she deserved.

However, he knew he couldn't. And he knew he could never keep her satisfied for that long. He was boring. He wasn't dark nor intriguing like his brother. He wasn't right for Caroline and at the same time he was.

He could be.

She was still looking at him impatiently, eyebrows raised.

'I might have,' he said vaguely. 'But there's no need to worry about that, Caroline. It would only make things complicated for you.'

'It already is complicated!' she exclaimed, jumping from his lap in the process and pacing through the room as she let out a deep sigh. 'Why don't you understand that it already is complicated? Nik doesn't seem to love me, only interested in his hybrids and his witches. And now you. Admitting my feelings for him was enough complication for at least half a millennium, Elijah. But now...'

She rambled on and on and all Elijah could do was admire the way she looked. Those long legs, her blond curls muffled, her eyes big and full of fire and confusion, her pajama hugging her slim body so deliciously...

'Are you even listening to me?' His head shot up as he heard her words, his gaze locked in hers.

'I'm sorry,' he said, his voice trembling. 'I must say I was not paying attention, no.' Caroline's brows furrowed at the sound of that - she had never heard his voice being other than calm and... Elijah. There was no other way to put it. His voice was his trademark, and trembling didn't seem to be part of his vocabulary.

At that very moment, Klaus walked in, cheeks flushed with red, anger in his eyes. 'Caroline,' he said calmly, a frightening contrast to his frenzied look. 'I figured you'd be here, sweetheart. It's the middle of the night, why aren't you in our house?'

'I... I had to talk to Elijah.' She couldn't look at him. Not after what he had done to her and not after what she had done with Elijah. So she avoided his gaze, finding the red carpet amazingly interesting all of a sudden.

'In your pajamas?' he asked skeptically as he eyed the two of them suspiciously. 'What exactly is going on here.' As he came closer, he noticed the red outlines of Caroline's eyes. 'Have you been crying?'

She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes as she walked towards the door. 'As if you care,' she said, her hand reaching for the doorknob.

He sped to her, pushing her against the wall, his mouth close to her ear. Hot breath fanned over her shell as he spoke huskily. 'Is my love not enough, Caroline?' he asked. 'Are you unhappy with what I give you?'

That, was Caroline's breaking point. She was done, oh she was so done. 'And what exactly do you give me, Klaus?' she yelled, pushing him off of her. Her words made him step back even more. 'Do you give me the chance to sit at home while all you do is care about your hybrids? Do you give me the opportunity to drown in self-pity as you once again don't spend a minute with me, when you can't even look at me anymore like you once did?'

'Caroline,' he warned, his voice lowly. His eyes hardened, fire starting.

'No, Klaus. What you have given me is the horrible feeling of not being good enough. And to be fairly honest, that is not what I had hoped for when I took your offer. You promised me eternity. But I would've never chosen you if it meant an eternity of not being good enough.'

As if hit, he stepped back. Every word, every tear spend on him seemed to pierce right through his heart. But he couldn't show her. Mercy had never been his middle name, and in front of his brother he could not be merciful. Not towards anyone, not even towards her.

'Niklaus,' Elijah warned him, knowing exactly what was going on in his brother's head.

'Stop the nonsense, Elijah,' was the only thing he said. Because no matter how much it hurt him to do anything to her, he had to show her dominance. He often blamed it on being a wolf, but honestly, it was because he was him. With no dominance, no power, what did he have?

Right.

Nothing.

And so he found himself throwing her against the wall.

'Klaus, please,' she cried out, falling to her knees as she hit the brick wall. 'Don't do this. Don't do this.'

He walked up to her, eyes filled with frantic rage as he watched her attempts to get up as quickly as possible. She was frightened-no, she was horrified.

And he liked it.